In the translation flow the key person can be on either side: the coordinator in the organisation or the translator at the supplier. The departure of either gives rise to the same question: what has remained behind.
The risk lies not in the departure but in the dependence
A departure is ordinary. The problem is that the knowledge accumulated in that person is not recorded anywhere.
What accumulates in a person
Term preferences, who approved what, which document went where and the reasons for past decisions. When these are not written down, they remain as oral knowledge.
A record is the only solution
Keeping the decisions, the findings and the reasons for terms in a single searchable place turns the handover into a transaction.
The handover plan should exist before the departure
A handover file prepared after the departure has been announced remains incomplete in the short time that is left. The habit of recording should be continuous.
The backup is defined
The backup of every role should be in writing. A role without a backup stops the flow in periods of leave as well.
The backup should really work
A backup that has never done a job means a new introduction at the moment of need. The backup needs to receive small jobs regularly.
It is asked on the supplier's side too
How the context is handed over when a person changes is asked at the first meeting. A structure whose answer is "we work with the same team" has not answered this question.
Continuity can be written into the contract
The preservation of the team and the obligation to give notice in the event of a change can be defined in the contract.
Counter-view: it is not possible to write everything down
It is true that the whole of the knowledge of the context cannot be put on record. But writing down the decisions and the reasons ensures that not the whole but the most critical part is preserved; this part is the most expensive one anyway.
The handover file is kept short
Open matters, pending jobs, contact persons and the latest decisions. Four headings are of more use than a long document.
The transition period is defined
It takes time for the new person to build up context. A rise in the number of queries in this period is an expected situation.
A fluctuation in quality is foreseen
It is ordinary for the findings to increase in the transition period. This fluctuation is noted separately in the measurement; otherwise a wrong interpretation of performance arises.
A critical job is not made to coincide with the transition
If possible, the most critical documents are not left to the transition period. This is a risk that can be solved by planning.
Access is closed after the departure
The person's access to the files and the systems is closed on the day of departure. This step is what the confidentiality undertaking means in practice.
Knowledge should not be gathered in a single person
One role carrying the whole context looks efficient but is fragile. Having a second person regularly inside the flow both produces a backup and tests whether the record really is understandable.
A departure is an opportunity for review
During the handover, the unnecessary steps in the process and the decisions that have aged become visible. The question "why is this like this" asked by the new person may not have been asked for years.
Takeaway
The departure of a key person cannot be prevented, but the reset to zero can. Keeping the decisions on record continuously, a backup that works for every role and a short handover file; if these three exist the departure is an interruption, and if not it is the loss of a context accumulated over years.